Fasting Issues (General Fatwa Session)

Session Guest

Sheikh Ahmad Kutty is a Senior Lecturer and an Islamic Scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Monday, May. 14, 2018 | 21:00 - 23:00 Makkah | 18:00 - 20:00 GMT

Session Status

Session is over.

Dear Brothers/Sisters,

Thank you very much for joining us in this Live Fatwa session. We would like also to thank our guest, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, for answering the questions directed to him. You will find the answers of your questions below.

assalam WA aliekum..i wanted to ask the ruiling about a male teacher teaching a female student or vise versa...what are those certain parameters or conditions..becuz I heard about bibi Ayesha (may peacebe with her) use to taught and give fatwas to the sahaba's..

Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh

In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Mercy-Giving

Men are allowed to teach women; likewise, women are also allowed to teach men.

While doing so, they should observe the Islamic guidelines. Such guidelines include: men and women appearing wearing inappropriate attire breaking the rules of Islamic modesty; these rules apply to both males and females; the purpose and content of teaching are ethical and free of all vices; finally, there is no possibility of isolation between a man and woman.

As long as such guidelines are in place, men and women can meet, learn and engage in learning and discussions.

That is the precedent set by the Prophet (peace be upon him). We learn from the well-attested traditions that men and women used to appear and meet in public places on all important occasions, including the five daily prayers, the weekly gathering of Jumu’ah, Eid prayers, and even in the expeditions and battlefields.

Aishah, Umm Salamah, and others used to teach men and women while observing the above rules, and this tradition continued until recent times as we have no shortage of women scholars and jurists instructing both men and women.

Almighty Allah knows best.

Assalamu alaikum Shaikh, there is a more tendency within women to show shyness & modesty, no doubt it is good quality. But society/culture behaves as if shyness & modesty is not for men & it is only for women ,which I find unfair. Does Islam consider that shyness & modesty is applicable to both men & women in equal amount?
Does Islam make modesty & shyness so overbearing in both men & women in equal amount ?

In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Mercy-Giving

All praise is due to Allah. Peace and blessings be upon His Messenger Muhammad.

Modesty is one of the essential manners for all Muslims to observe, whether males or females. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Modesty is one of the branches of faith.” (Al-Bukhari). So, it is wrong to say that in Islam modesty is enjoined exclusively on women.

We should acquire the trait of modesty in such a way that we should be ashamed of transgressing the limits of Allah.

The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “If you do not feel shy (before Allah) do whatever you wish.” (At-Tabarani

In other words, a person who has no sense of modesty is a loser and far removed from the grace of Allah.

Almighty Allah knows best.

Assalamu alaikum shaikh ,as far I know , Islam gives importance on women's taking her decision regarding her marriage. Though the involvement of her guardian is mandatory, the final decision regarding marriage upto women. She can take decision when she will marry .My question is, if she decides ,she will marry after 35,after 40 or whatever age she wants, is it permitted? If she wants to marry in later age cause she want to complete highest degrees of her educational subjects or she wants to reach to highest position/stable position of her career before taking huge responsibility of wife & mother in order to avoid chaos & difficulty, or organize her life or other reasons or just taking time/being prepared before accepting drastic change that comes with married life , is it permitted? Or is it sin though, marrying before time fixed by her is something she doesn't want for herself? I am not interested what society /culture dictates about that, cause society/culture unfairly treats women,discriminates women ,restricts her life,belittles her, gives her pressure which I find irritating. I would be grateful, if you would answer it without taking her wishes negatively cause , even in modern age women are unfairly judged, her life is restricted & I don't see anything wrong in women's love for study,job,hobby,constructive works cause those make her confident & broadens her mind & gives her security ,financial independence, positive attitude.

Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh

In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Mercy-Giving

Although as a woman you are allowed to postpone marriage temporarily to pursue your professional goals or dreams, you should not do so indefinitely, especially if you have the needs for intimacy and union. By putting it off forever, you may end up missing the boat altogether.

I know this from my experience of more than four decades as an Imam. I know many women who waited and waited for various reasons, including the one you mentioned above, and then ended up living spinsters.

For further details on the precise legal status of marriage in Islam, please refer to the answer posted below to a similar question.

Almighty Allah knows best.

Assalamu alaikum shaikh,I want to know Islamic rulings about women who wishes to remain unmarried. If women wishes to remain unmarried because of many personal reasons,. Though she has physical desire but it is not so much for which she will think about fornication. Overall she doesn't fall into fornication & even doesn't want it cause it is unlawful.Though she finds intimacy attractive in imagination,she usually does not desire it in real life. Cause she thinks ,she will be sad during intimacy in real life due to some personal insecurities.their are rights of husband like obedience,intimacy & other rights.The most important point that she has doubt whether she will be able to fulfill those rights for all times until death or not.In this case , can she remain unmarried( as long as she does not fall into fornication) , as there's a risk that she can't fulfill spousal duties & though she has physical desire in certain amount, due to personal insecurities she doesn't find intimacy in real life interesting?

Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh

In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Mercy-Giving

If a person chooses to remain unmarried for the reasons such as the ones you have referred to above, it is not sinful.

Marriage is not obligatory or strongly recommended for everyone; instead, it varies from person to person according to his or her condition or situation. Marriage would be forbidden if a person cannot fulfill the spousal obligations at all or fears harming him or her. It is obligatory on those who are unable to guard themselves against fornication while having the means to get married.

For further details, let me cite here one of my earlier answers:

“Although marriage is generally considered a highly recommended act, yet from the point of view of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence)—because of diverse circumstances—it can readily fall into one of the four categories listed below: Fard (obligatory) or mustahabb (recommended) or haram (forbidden) or simply halal (permitted).

1- Marriage is considered fard(obligatory) if a person is so tormented by sexual desire that he/she fears falling into the sin of fornication. Since staying away from fornication is obligatory, and since marriage is the only avenue for legitimate sexual satisfaction, it becomes obligatory on such a person to get married. This is based on the principle in jurisprudence that says: “If an obligatory thing cannot be fulfilled except by fulfilling another, then fulfilling the latter becomes equally obligatory.”

2- If, however, he or she is not so tormented by sexual desire, and, hence, there is no fear of falling into sin, then it is highly recommended to get married if one has the means to do so. By doing so, one is fulfilling one of the great Sunnahs of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), our perfect role model.

3- If a person knows for certain that he or she cannot fulfill the duties required in marriage, and there is no fear of his/her falling into sin, then it becomes haramfor such a person to get married. Islam forbids us from doing injustice to another person; this would definitely be the case if one were to neglect his/her spousal duties.

4- If a person has no means to marry and is, therefore, incapable of fulfilling his spousal duties, but has strong desire, it is permitted for him to get married—provided he tries earnestly to seek an honest source of living. Allah has promised to help such a person. We must also add here a further note that the Muslim community has a duty to assist such people until such time that they become self-reliant.

If, however, no such measures are available, and a person finds himself unable to fulfill his spousal duties, he is advised to curb his desires through the discipline of fasting and other acts of sublimation.”

Almighty Allah knows best.

Assalamu alaikum,I want to ask about Allah not accepting repentance of one who continue to sin. Does it mean persisting in minor sins will prevent repentance being accepted? And what about major sins done out of ignorance?Jazak Allahu khayr

Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh

In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Mercy-Giving

Allah says, “If you shun the major sins that you are enjoined to shun, We shall efface your [minor] bad deeds, and shall cause you to enter an abode of glory.” (An-Nisaa’ 4 31)

So, once we shun the major sins, Allah will forgive our minor sins. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “A person’s performance of five daily prayers, attendance of Jumu’ah prayers every week, and observing the fasts of Ramadan every year will erase the bad deeds and compensates for them – as long he avoid the major sins.”

As for the major sins, we ought to turn to Allah in sincere repentance. Since repentance entails the following steps; namely, remorse, refraining, and resolving never to do them.

Remorse means feeling deep sorrow for sinning; refraining implies that one must stay away from the sin including all of its leads and associations and finally resolving firmly never to sin again.

Once we fulfill these conditions, we can hope for the mercy of Allah.

Almighty Allah knows best.

Assalamualaikum!! I am studying in Ukraine. Here it's a very cold climate like -25to-30 degrees. I should eat chicken to stay healthy here. Here everywhere there is non veg like in every edible thing. But it's very difficult to find halal meet. The Christians cut here meat like chicken and sheep but not in Islamic procedure. Can i eat chicken which is not cut in Islamic procedure in emergency case ?? I cannot find halal chicken here easily . My friends told to say Bismillah and eat Allah will forgive pls answer this question..

Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh

In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Mercy-Giving

If the meat they serve in the restaurants is coming from those who call themselves Christians or Jews, you may eat it saying bismillah even if it is not slaughtered according to the strict rules of Islam. Allah says, “Today I have permitted for you all good things, and the food of the people of the book is lawful for you..”

According to Ibn Abbas, here the food refers to the meat they slaughter.

The Prophet, peace be upon him, was asked about meat coming to them from suburbs and they had no idea whether they mentioned the name of Allah while slaughtering, he replied, “you mention the name of Allah while eating it.”

Therefore, the majority of scholars hold the view that we are allowed to eat the meat of the People of the Book (as long as it does not belong to the forbidden category such as pork and it’s by-products).

Having said this, I should also caution to avoid it if you have a clear choice of going for meat that is slaughtered by Muslims.